Tarleton vocal majors excel at regional singing competition

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STEPHENVILLE (March 25, 2015) — Vocal studies students from Tarleton State University excelled at the recent National Association of Teachers of Singing’s Dallas-Fort Worth Region competition March 20-21.

Jacob Humphries, music education major from Joshua, Texas, received 1st place in Musical Theater (Division IV) and 1st in Classical (Division X). He also received the Anne Weeks Jackson Award for Highest Scoring Male Vocalist in the Musical Theater Division.

Kayla Lincoln, music education major from Alvin, Texas, finished in 1st place in Musical Theater (Division III) and was awarded the Anne Weeks Jackson Award for Highest Scoring Female Vocalist in the Musical Theater Division.

Also earning 1st place in the Classical (Division VIII) competition was Bradley McKinney, music education major from Tolar, Texas.

John Pollock, music education major from Keller, Texas, received 2nd place in the Musical Theater (Division IV) competition, and Ashley Darby, music education major from Glen Rose, Texas, finished in 2nd place in the Classical (Division IX) contest.

Ashley Morrison, from Mansfield, Texas and Cheyenne Shreve, from Fort Worth, were named semi-finalists in the Musical Theater (Division III) competition.

Fifteen Tarleton students competed at the event hosted by Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth over the weekend, with approximately 170 total competition entries. The students are under the direction of Tarleton Music Faculty Members Drs. Heather Hawk and Iwao Asakura, and were accompanied on piano by Steve Chambers, instructor of music.

“This competition is great for Tarleton students in that they can sing for outside judges and receive immediate feedback,” said Hawk. “Also, it’s great for them to excel at NATS because they are competiting against their peers from fellow universities.”

NATS, founded in 1944 to encourage the highest standards of vocal art and ethical principles in teaching singing, and to promote vocal education and research at all levels, is now the largest association of teachers of singing in the world, with more than 6,500 members in the U.S., Canada and 25 other countries.

Students of NATS members have access to one of the organization’s most widely recognized activities: student auditions. Students also have the opportunity, along with members, to compete at the national level through the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards (NATSAA).